Genres:Biography | Drama | History Countries:Germany | Russia | UK Directors:Michael Hoffman Actors:Kerry Condon | John Sessions | Christian Gaul | Paul Giamatti | Maximilian Gärtner | Wolfgang Häntsch | Patrick Kennedy | Nenad Lucic | David Masterson | James McAvoy | Christopher Plummer | Tomas Spencer | Anne-Marie Duff | Helen Mirren
In 1910, acclaimed Russian novelist 'Leo Tolstoy' (qv), in the later stage of his life, works rather than a writer but as the leader of the Tolstoyan Movement, whose basic tenets are brotherly love and world peace through pacifism, and a denouncement of material wealth and physical love. His chief follower is Vladimir Chertkov, who does whatever he requires to advance the cause. Chertkov hires a young man named Valentin Bulgakov to be Tolstoy's personal secretary in carrying out this work. Once ensconced in the life on the estate where much of the work is taking place, Bulgakov quickly learns that many there take from the movement only what he/she wants/believes. Also chief amongst the movement's wants is the deeding of all Tolstoy's writings to the people so that after his death it will become public domain. Tolstoy's wife, the Countess Sofya Andreevna Tolstoy, believes that her husband's writings are rightfully hers after he passes, as she wants and believes she deserves the monetary benefits derived from such. This places a strain between those in the movement, especially Chertov and the Tolstoy's daughter Sasha, and the Countess. Bulgatov acts as the mediator between the parties, he who feels he needs to do what is truly in Tolstoy's heart regardless of what Tolstoy may say or do.
Genres:Drama Countries:Ireland Directors:Leonard Abrahamson Actors:Pat Shortt | Anne-Marie Duff | Conor Ryan | Tommy Fitzgerald | Andrew Bennett | Denis Conway | George Costigan | Tom Hickey | John Keogh | Jason Nelligan | Don Wycherley | Una Kavanagh | Suzy Lawlor
Tragi-comedy from the margins of contemporary Irish life. Regarded by his neighbors as a harmless misfit, eliciting idle kindness, benign tolerance and occasional abuse, Josie has spent all his adult life as the caretaker of a crumbling petrol station on the outskirts of a small town in the mid-west of Ireland. He is limited, lonely, yet relentlessly optimistic and, in his own peculiar way, happy. But then over the course of a summer, Josie's world shifts. A teenager, David, comes to work with him. David likes him. They open up to each other and suddenly the lonely adult is drinking cans down at the railway tracks with the local kids. He is awakened to needs in himself that have never been met. And Carmel, from the local shop, who has always been kind to him, stirs feelings within him that he struggles to name. And then one thoughtless moment unravels the threads of faltering friendship. Events spiral. Josie's life is changed, forever. Download:
Genres:Biography Countries:UK Directors:Otto Bathurst Actors:Michiel Huisman | Derek Jacobi | Con O'Neill | Christian Wolf-La'Moy | Anne-Marie Duff | Lindsay Duncan | Penelope Wilton
Margot examines the glamorous and turbulent life of Britain’s first international ballet superstar. At the age of 40, Dame Margot Fonteyn (Anne-Marie Duff – The Virgin Queen; Shameless) was seemingly at her creative peak and under mounting pressure to retire gracefully. Her unexpected pairing with young Russian émigré Rudolph Nureyev (Michiel Huisman – The Young Victoria, De Co-assistant) caused a worldwide sensation. Whilst Margot’s marriage to Panamanian diplomat Roberto de Arias (Con O’Neill – Telstar, Criminal Justice) was put under immense strain, her passionate and vibrant relationship with Nureyev created one of the most enduring and celebrated ballet partnerships of all time. This is a timeless drama about love, passion and performance also starring Lindsay Duncan, Derek Jacobi and Penelope Wilton. Download:DivXiPod
Genres:Drama Countries:UK Directors:John Crowley Actors:Michael Caine | Bill Milner | Anne-Marie Duff | David Morrissey | Charli Janeway | Adam Drinkall | Garrick Hagon | Keith Hargreaves | William Ilkley | Ralph Ineson | Karl Johnson | Miles Jupp | Michael Keogh | Leslie Phillips | Ralph Riach
"Set in 1980s seaside England, this is the story of Edward, an unusual ten year old boy growing up in an old people's home run by his parents. Whilst his mother struggles to keep the family business afloat, and his father copes with the onset of mid-life crisis, Edward is busy tape-recording the elderly residents to try and discover what happens when they die. Increasingly obsessed with ghosts and the afterlife, Edward's is a rather lonely existence until he meets Clarence, the latest recruit to the home, a retired magician with a liberating streak of anarchy. Is There Anybody There? tells the surprising, touching story of this odd couple - a boy and an old man - facing life together, with Edward learning to live in the moment and Clarence coming to terms with the past." Download:DivXiPod